They scored two tries in the first 20 minutes and the only surprise of the evening was that they went 55 minutes before scoring again.

The Kings would have felt they had claimed a second half moral victory in keeping the Bulls tryless until the 75th minute, but it would have been an injustice to the Bulls performance had they not got the four-try bonus point.

They got a bit of good fortune in scoring the bonus point try through a Kings turnover in the tackle with less than a minute to go, but 30-plus points was a fairer reflection than the 20-nil lead.

The Bulls, man for man, were superior in everything they did. The Kings could not cope with the Bulls physicality and mongrel. This was a case of the older kid putting the young newcomer in his place emphatically.

The Kings offered nothing in the first half, but credit to the Bulls for not allowing the home team to get a sniff. And by not giving the hosts any early momentum they also silenced the home crowd advantage.

This was the Bulls best performance of the season and the first 40 minutes was second only to the opening 40 produced by the Brumbies against the Sharks in Durban.

The Bulls pack bossed and monstered the home team and with the possession halfbacks Jano Vermaak and Morne Steyn controlled how and where the game would be played.

Steyn was superb with his tactical kicking and the match as a contest was over within 20 minutes.

The Bulls young centre pairing of Jan Serfontein and JJ Engelbrecht did as they pleased against a hesitant home team defence and Serfontein was named man of the match.